Men's Volleyball | 4/14/2026 7:20:00 PM
TRAFFORD, Pa. (pacathletics.org) - The Presidents' Athletic Conference (PAC) announced the 2026 All-PAC men's volleyball teams and conference award winners Tuesday evening. The postseason accolades were decided through voting by the league's seven head coaches.
The All-PAC teams and award winners were announced on a selection show broadcast by the PAC Sports Network. To view the archived broadcast, Click Here.
Collecting the PAC Player of the Year award was Thiel College senior middle blocker Kaleb Proudfoot after he helped the Tomcats repeat as PAC champions with a 23-8 overall record, a single-season school record for wins, and an 11-1 league mark. After beating Hiram College 3-0 and Chatham University 3-1 to win the PAC Tournament, the Tomcats bring an eight-game winning streak into the NCAA Tournament.
Thiel opens the NCAA Tournament Thursday night at 7:30 pm in a Play-In Round match against Dominican (Ill.) University. The match will be played at Carthage College, who is hosting the Regional this weekend and will play the winner Friday in the first round.
The other three major PAC awards went to members of the Saint Vincent College program, including sophomore libero Jackson Genicola winning PAC Defensive Player of the Year and SVC freshman setter Jack Ryan earning PAC Newcomer of the Year.
Selected as the PAC Coach of the Year accolades was Saint Vincent head coach Kate McCauley.
Proudfoot earned PAC Player of the Year honors after posting an impressive .459 hitting percentage this season, which led the PAC and ranked second in NCAA Division III. The senior middle blocker has totaled 746 career kills while compiling a stellar .410 career hitting percentage to date. Earlier this season, he recorded the second-highest single-match hitting percentage in program history, hitting .867 with 13 kills and no errors on 15 swings in a win over Mount Union. Proudfoot also averaged 0.81 blocks per set, tying for fifth in the conference rankings. He was twice named PAC Offensive Player of the Week (Feb. 3, Feb. 17) and also earned PAC Defensive Player of the Week honors on March 3.
Genicola, who stepped into the libero role for the Bearcats this season, earned Defensive Player of the Year honors after averaging 3.44 digs per set to lead the conference. The sophomore also ranked among the nation’s best, sitting sixth in NCAA Division III in digs per set. Across the Bearcats’ 19-match season, Genicola committed just 11 reception errors while totaling 210 digs on the year. He also recorded a conference-best 24 digs against Grove City on February 21.
Ryan engineered the Saint Vincent offense in his initial season as a Bearcat, leading the PAC with 9.69 assists per set. As a team, SVC ranked second in hitting percentage at .228 and second with 11.94 kills per set. A strong defensive player as well, Ryan ranked second on the team with 139 digs and third with 37 blocks. Ryan registered four double-doubles during the season, highlighted by a 51-assist, 10-dig performance in a 3-1 victory on Feb. 25th.
This is the first PAC Coach of the Year award for McCauley, but the second honor for the fifth-year head coach. She was named the Allegheny Mountain Collegiate Conference (AMCC) Coach of the Year in 2024. McCauley earned the top PAC coaching award after guiding the Bearcats to a 14-5 overall record and a 10-2 PAC mark. Saint Vincent rolled off a school-record 14-match winning streak in the middle of the season, which included defeating Thiel 3-0 on March 6th in Greenville, the only PAC loss the Tomcats have suffered in two years.
The PAC also released its 2026 PAC Sportsmanship Team. The PAC Sportsmanship Teams were established to recognize student-athletes who have distinguished themselves through demonstrated acts of sportsmanship and ethical behavior and are an ongoing effort to recognize and encourage positive sportsmanship among all PAC teams.
PAC Award Winners
PAC Player of the Year: Thiel senior middle blocker Kaleb Proudfoot
PAC Defensive Player of the Year: Saint Vincent sophomore libero Jackson Genicola
PAC Newcomer of the Year: Saint Vincent freshman setter Jack Ryan
PAC Coach of the Year: Saint Vincent head coach Kate McCauley
| All-PAC First Team |
| Name |
School |
Position |
Year |
Hometown/High School |
| Tim McCabe |
Chatham |
RS |
Jr. |
North Huntingdon, Pa./Norwin |
| RJ Nagg |
Chatham |
S |
So. |
Erie, Pa./McDowell |
| Tieg Malcolm |
Grove City |
MB |
Sr. |
New Philadelphia, Ohio/Homeschooled |
| Jackson Genicola |
Saint Vincent |
LIB |
So. |
North Huntingdon, Pa./Norwin |
| Shawn McSwiggen |
Saint Vincent |
RS |
Sr. |
Pittsburgh, Pa./Thomas Jefferson |
| Zebadiah Wyant |
Saint Vincent |
OH |
Sr. |
Martinsburg, Pa./Central |
| Ezra Oesterling |
Thiel |
OH |
So. |
Shelocta, Pa./West Shamokin |
| Kaleb Proudfoot |
Thiel |
MB |
Sr. |
Butler, Pa./Butler |
| All-PAC Second Team |
| Name |
School |
Position |
Year |
Hometown/High School |
| John Gasiorowski |
Chatham |
LIB |
So. |
Pittsburgh, Pa./Bethel Park |
| Owen Kelley |
Geneva |
OH |
Jr. |
Greensburg, Pa./Hempfield |
| Andrew Ubinger |
Geneva |
S |
Jr. |
Valencia, Pa./North Catholic |
| Evan DiMalanta |
Grove City |
OH/L |
Fr. |
Medina, Ohio/Highland |
| Carson Good |
Grove City |
RS |
Jr. |
Jeannette, Pa./Penn-Trafford |
| Jack Ryan |
Saint Vincent |
S |
Fr. |
Pittsburgh, Pa./Pittsburgh Central Catholic |
| Bryce Lizanich |
Thiel |
MB |
Jr. |
Coraopolis, Pa./Montour |
| Will Zimmermann |
Thiel |
OH |
Sr. |
Cranberry, Pa./Seneca Valley |
| All-PAC Honorable Mention |
| Name |
School |
Position |
Year |
Hometown/High School |
| Cole Thomas |
Bethany |
LIB |
So. |
Lindside, W.Va./James Monroe |
| Armani George |
Chatham |
MH |
Fr. |
Reading, Pa./Governor Mifflin |
| Christian Parks |
Geneva |
LIB |
So. |
Canton, Ohio/Jackson |
| Evan Puhl |
Geneva |
MB |
Sr. |
McMurray, Pa./Peters Township |
| Daniel Spear |
Geneva |
MB |
Jr. |
Pittsburgh, Pa./North Hills |
| Andrew Kessler |
Grove City |
MB |
Jr. |
Jeannette, Pa./Penn-Trafford |
| Colin Brooks |
Hiram |
RS |
Sr. |
Powell, Ohio/Olentangy Liberty |
| Derek Chiang |
Hiram |
OH/MB |
Sr. |
Markham, Ontario/Pierre Elliott Trudeau |
| Cullen Sivak |
Hiram |
OH |
Sr. |
Akron, Ohio/St. Vincent-St. Mary |
| Dakotah Welsh |
Hiram |
OH/L |
Jr. |
Stow, Ohio/Bio-Med Science Academy |
| Braeden Artman |
Saint Vincent |
MB |
Fr. |
Jefferson Hills, Pa./Thomas Jefferson |
| Rocco Marino |
Saint Vincent |
MH |
Jr. |
Latrobe, Pa./Greater Latrobe |
| George Schwalm IV |
Thiel |
RS |
Fr. |
Fort Collins, Colo./Poudre |